APEKUPE ( My bed time story)

APEKUPE ( Sun Eve)

In my village, Apekupe is the name given to children born on the eve of the sun festival. Villagers believe that such kids are gifts from the gods and therefore families that have such kids are lucky. These kids born on the eve of Apekupe are usually perceived as healers, seers, truth talkers, necromancers or some sort of special gifts or talents. They brought goodluck and fortune to their parents.

An Apekupe child on the other hand should not tax any one while helping the individual. They should show love and kindness and be humble to people, but these days it is a different story because most of the families that have these special kids take advantage of people by making them pay through their nose before they can be attended to. If for instance some one that is very ill come seeking for help in an Apekupe house, the parents of that Apekupe kid would not give consent for the special gifted child to perform his or her duties else the individual pays heavily. Some wealthy men and women privatized these special kids, hence their parents sell them off to these rich men and women. Some of the kids started having pride because they are having lots of money.

"The Sun god looked down at the earth and smiled, he looked at the selfish desire of the people he had given his gifts to and decided to come up with a plan. He pleaded with his brother the god of fire to give him his IFUZU "

IFUZU is a colourful feather of nine powerful birds. The spirits of these birds have been waiting for an opportunity to be released so as to vent their anger on their victim. The sun god created Zifivo and released all the powers of the nine birds in him he sent him to the family of an old bush farmer. The wife of the old bush farmer got pregnant and bore Zifivo who came on a rainy night. He was hairy, he is human but had the resemblance of a bird at birth. Zifivo would cry all day long and one day his mother had a cut on her hand with the knife while cooking and Zifivo saw her and let his tears drop on her wound and she became healed immediately. His father on the other hand got bitten by a poisonous snake and Apekupe tears healed his father.

The Apekupe kids and their families continued with their selfish desires. As zifivo started becoming famous and his wonders spread like wide fire across the village and neighboring villages too .The Apekupe kids started getting less attention from people. Even the rich men and women that privatized some of these kids sent them back to their parents as some of them couldn't meet the needs of the people any longer. Zifivo was on the lips of everyone . Jealousy grew in the hearts of the Apekupe kids. Their families started thinking of a way to pull Zifivo down. On the other hand, Zifivo was calm and kind hearted down to earth with loyalty. He did not want to punish his fellow humans even though he knew he had extraordinary powers. Apekupe kids families consulted the god of fire and the god of fire told them how Zifivo was made by the god of sun. The god of fire told them to bring a strand of Zifivo hair with the IFUZU. Zifivo always kept the IFUZU under his mother's pillow case, his mother didn't really know the use of the IFUZU.

On a faithful day when Zifivo went to his maternal home to spend the weekend,one of the Apekupe kids called Ntala sneaked into Zifivo's room and searched for the IFUZU. He didn't see it but saw a local comb on the bed end. He grabbed the comb and pulled out folded hair in the teeth of the comb. He went to Zifivo's mother's room to search for IFUZU and found it under her pillow case. He leaped out with joy as he left . The families of the Apekupe kids went to the god of fire and proceeded with the rituals .

Two weeks passed and it seemed as though nothing had happened to Zifivo, the Apekupe kids and their families started to think that the god of fire had deceived them. Zifivo's name grew more popular in fame and was loved by all. In the third week, Zifivo fell so sick. The villagers wondered what the problem it could be because the mighty Zifivo cannot fall sick. His parents were scared to lose their child. Zifivo told his mother to get the IFUZU but she searched for it and couldn't see the IFUZU. Zifivo summoned the god of the sun by saying these words.

"Father I believe in you,

It is not in vain

Set my mind free from pain

It is so much that I can bear it

Ithits more than a spear ".

The god of sun already saw the betrayal from his brother and took his rays and made Zifivo more powerful than he had ever been. The god of fire became jealous and there was a huge fight between them (the god of fire and the sun). And for the first time he also summoned to IFUZU. The IFUZU appeared and the feathers of the nine birds scattered around the air unleashed its wrath on the Apekupe kids and their families. Zifivo died at the age of ninety five. He was known for his good deeds . He is still remembered today for his loyalty and honesty, he served the god of the sun. Till this present day The Apekupe kids and their families,even their generation were cursed, they suffered a great deal for their envy, hatred and misuse of power from the gods.

The end.

This is a night story written by me for my young Leo as his bed time stories. Thanks for reading and have a beautiful night.

Copyright ©️ Gianna-B, 2022 and all rights reserved.

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